1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device that is capable of reducing power consumption and implementing high resolution and a display on a large-sized screen.
2. Description of Related Art
The demand is increasing for flat panel displays, such as plasma display panels (“PDPs”), organic light emitting displays (“OLEDs”), and liquid crystal displays (“LCDs”).
PDPs are devices that display characters or images using plasma generated by gas-discharge. OLEDs are devices which display characters or images by applying an electric field to specific light-emitting organic or high molecule materials. LCDs are devices which display images by applying an electric field to a liquid crystal layer disposed between two panels, and regulating the strength of the electric field to adjust a transmittance of light passing through the liquid crystal layer.
The flat panel displays, for example, the LCD and the OLED, each include a panel assembly provided with pixels including switching elements and display signal lines, and a gate driver, i.e., a shift register, providing a gate signal for gate lines of the display signal lines to turn the switching elements on and off.
The shift register includes a plurality of stages, each of which includes a plurality of transistors. Each stage includes an input unit, an output unit, and a discharge unit, and outputs the gate signal synchronized with a clock signal in response to gate outputs of previous and next stages.
The stages are applied with a gate-off voltage, a clock signal, etc., from signal lines extending parallel to each other in a longitudinal direction at one side of the stages. Terminal lines, which connect the signal lines to the stages, are required for applying the signals to the stages, and thus the terminal lines must overlap the remaining signal lines except for a signal line disposed closest to the stages. In particular, a terminal line connected to a signal line furthest from the stages overlaps several signal lines. This causes parasitic capacitances to increase, thereby increasing power consumption.
Additionally, transistors belonging to the output unit are required to be larger in order to generate a gate output suitable for a display device having high resolution and a large-sized screen.